RE: Is there an Iris Heaven

Jefrie, well, Albuquerque is zone 6 (or 6 1/2), and it never gets anything too
obnoxious other than an occasional hailstorm and some snow in the winter. Of
course there is the water problem... But there are several iris societies
locally, not to mention others in Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Roswell, and Hobbs, so
you would be in good company. Of course there is the dust in the spring...
Barb, in Santa Fe, just the right distance from Albuquerque (close enough to
drive easily, but I don't have to live there).
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From: iris-l@rt66.com on behalf of Leon Adams Jr
Sent: Saturday, February 08, 1997 3:02 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: RE: Is there an Iris Heaven
RIck writes:
>And Linda, please don't refer to CA as iris heaven. Spend some time in
>my garden and you may change your mind.
......................................
>How would you like to have leaf spot all thru the winter? And believe it or
not >we can get late freezes here also, maybe not killing but disfiguring.
> Is there an Iris Heaven?
I myself had determined that zone 6 must be Iris heaven, and to that end have
been looking for retirement property based on it being in a zone 6 area. I
thought this to be a true hypothesis because zone 6 is described in sunset's
Western Garden Book as: Warmer summers than zone 5 and a much longer growing
season ( Mid-March - Mid-November) along with a pronounced winter chill.
This all seems perfect for growing Iris, and as 2 of the big commercial guys,
Cooleys and Shreiners are in zone 6, and Terry isn't Salmon Creek in zone 6?,
this seemed a true hypothesis. But then we had the rains and the floods, of
the past two years which has ruined some of their gardens. So maybe their
really isn't an Iris heaven after all.
But I am still looking for zone 6.
Jefrie Jenkins
Kent, WA zone 5 - AIS region 13